As the 2011 D23 Expo continues this weekend in Anaheim, one of the biggest entertainment stories of the past week could lend a dark pall to tomorrow's movie presentation, as the Disney executives hope to engender more and more excitement about such potential blockbusters as John Carter and Brave. Yes, folks, there may (or may not, depending on who you read and who you believe) be no Lone Ranger movie from director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and star Johnny Depp. The film was meant to be released on December 21, 2012 (insert jokes about the end of the world, Mayan-style, here), but Disney has either scrapped the project or forced the filmmakers to lower the budget from a whopping $250 million to a slightly less whopping $200 million. And I gotta admit, folks, I hope Disney goes down the former road.
I can't tell you how little I care about a Lone Ranger movie, especially one with Depp as Tonto, not the titular hero, who was set to be played by Armie Hammer (the actor who played the Winklevoss brothers in The Social Network). I am something of a defender of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Most people agree that the first film in the franchise was a fun, exciting action-adventure that reintroduced Johnny Depp to mass audiences and created an instantly iconic character. I'm not going to deny the flaws of the entire franchise, especially the three films that followed it--quick aside: if Disney doesn't announce, or hint at, a fifth film this weekend, I will eat my shoe--but I can't help but enjoy the ambition and action present in this series. The special effects are among the best we've seen in cinema, Depp remained funny throughout the first three films, and the action was consistently impressive.
So I suppose I should be interested in seeing Bruckheimer and Depp collaborate with Verbinski and Disney on another supernaturally themed action-adventure. But I don't care. And it's nothing against the Western genre, mind you. Rumors abound that the failure of Cowboys & Aliens at the domestic box office was the final nail in Lone Ranger's coffin, as the former film is another hybrid action movie set in the West. That may be the case, but I'm fine with Western movies. What I'm baffled at is the exorbitant budget, and whatever insane salary deals the main talent have with Disney. According to The Hollywood Reporter, even if the budget for Lone Ranger dropped to $200 million, the movie would have to gross $800 million at the box office so Disney could make any money. Chew on that for a minute.
Now, you could argue that Disney is...well, it's Disney. They're not destitute. As we speak, they are throwing a lavish weekend convention meant to lure in plenty of fanatics who will pay top dollar for trinkets and baubles (and if I had more disposable cash, I would be one of those fanatics). What's more, Disney is putting a lot of money--and when I say a lot, I mean at least $250 million, if not more--into John Carter, a movie that could either kickstart a new franchise for the company or prove a massive disaster. I'm excited for the project, not because of some long affinity for the Edgar Rice Burroughs character, but because it's the first live-action project from Andrew Stanton, director of Pixar films such as Finding Nemo and WALL-E. While that is cause for excitement for a buff like me, it's likely freaking Disney out. "We're giving this much money to a movie that looks like a mix of aliens and Westerns from a guy who's never directed a live-action movie before?"
So maybe Disney is getting cold feet, even though the combination of Johnny Depp and Jerry Bruckheimer has made the company billions of dollars. Hell, the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie has made more than a billion dollars worldwide, and a large majority of that is from everywhere aside from the United States. But Westerns--or movies that look like Westerns--don't always play well across the world, let alone here. What is Disney to do? Why be another studio that gets cold feet about a large project? It disappoints me more that Disney is throwing money at concepts and then realizing how stupid they sound, honestly. We are inundated with remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels, and 3-D post-conversions to the point of drowning in unoriginality. What we need is for studios to not even greenlight projects they'll cancel six months later.
Of course, for all we know, Lone Ranger isn't dead and will be reenergized if the Disney executives talk it up this weekend. For all we know, Johnny Depp and Jerry Bruckheimer will pitch, I don't know, a Twilight Zone movie to Disney and they'll gobble it up. Here's what will happen: Disney will throw money at something else, and they'll lose more than they'll win. That's how it is for pretty much every movie studio; it's a form of gambling, and we sometimes get a contact high from the financial winnings the studios get. What we--or I--can do is just cherish the great creative works that spring forth from the business reasons that help will those projects into existence. But, please, Disney: no Lone Ranger.
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